Specimen
by sporksareweird
Summary: Wanna guess what one of a Ninja Turtle’s biggest fears is?  It’s not the Foot.  It’s not alien attacks or Agent Bishop, either, though he uses them.  Here, I’ll give you a hint.  Its examination tables.


A/N: Another random oneshot from me. I have no idea where this bunny came from. Oh well.

Disclaimer: I do not own the TMNT, though I greatly desire to. I only own the story.

* * *

I was beating the crap out of my new punching bag, happily minding my own business, when Leonardo strode into the room to declare that Mikey was in trouble. The look on his face was all business, but I could tell that he was beyond worried.

"How do you know?" I asked, catching the wildly swinging bag and stepping back from it , ready for anything. Mikey had recently been injured in a scuffle with the Foot, an injury that he hadn't quite recovered from yet. If he was in trouble, that was especially bad news.

Donnie wandered in, adjusting a dial on a complicated-looking contraption. "He hasn't been answering his shell cell, and when I traced his signal I found that it has been stationary for quite some time in an area far from the pizza parlor." The look on his face was carefully detached, indicating that things were far worse than I had originally thought.

My stomach clenched uncomfortably. "Where is he?"

"He seems to be in a building that houses one of the smaller genetics labs in the area," Donnie replied, his indifferent mask slipping a bit to show his discomfort with the fact.

"Let's go," Leo ordered, looking determined.

Twenty minutes later found the three of us lurking atop one of the less conspicuous science buildings in the greater metropolitan area.

I looked through the glass of the convenient skylight and tried to make out the vague shapes beneath me. Leo motioned me away and Donnie pulled out a little disc-shaped object. He placed it on top of the box next to the skylight and after a second it sent some sort of shock through the box. It fizzled and smoked a bit, and then there was a soft mechanic click. Leo reached out and pulled one of the panes of glass outward and I discovered that it was on a hinge. Donnie secured a rope to a stray pipe near the skylight and handed the end of it to me. Leo motioned for me to go in first, and I dropped silently into the building.

Pasinetti Genetics, as it was called, was a pretty open building. The main lab was right in the center of the building with random offices and storage rooms branching off of that. My feet found a catwalk that wound its way all around the building and I let go of the rope, tugging on it twice to indicate that I had landed safely. I ventured around to the left side of the building, toward the only light in the building. I felt the catwalk vibrate a bit as first Donnie and then Leo landed. When I finally found my way to the lighted area, I hung back a bit in the shadows. I scanned the lab for signs of life and noticed a man in a lab coat, presumably a scientist, and a blonde woman with some camera equipment. Frowning, I continued my scan until I saw some examination tables.

Mikey was on one.

He was dead.

My heart stopped, all thought ceased. I was barely aware of my surroundings. Slowly, I sank to my knees, trembling violently. A sort of muffled screaming was slowly filling my head, growing louder as my brothers drew closer. Donnie looked down at me, concerned, and must have said something because his mouth moved. I just looked at him without really seeing him. I couldn't comprehend thought, could barely feel the metal of the catwalk cutting into my skin. I was nothing, the world was nothing.

I distantly heard the sharp intake of breath from my oldest (…_surviving_…) brother when he finally spotted Mikey. I barely felt Donnie's bag as it collided with my head as he rummaged around for something. Nothing mattered anymore. Actions were pointless. Feeling was pointless. My baby brother was dead.

"He's alive, Raph, clam down." Don's soft, calm voice broke through the screaming and the numbness and I stared at him blankly.

"Wha?" Was all I could manage.

Donnie pressed his binoculars to my eyes and pointed them at Mikey. I watched intently as his chest rose and fell slightly. Then I fell over.

"Raph!" Leo gasped, sounding concerned. "What is it?"

"He's not dead!" I could barely move or breathe for joy. "Mikey's alive!"

Leo's frown smoothed and he helped me up. "Yeah, he's alive, and we're going to get him out of here."

"That lady has cameras," I said, straightening up and acting as though my little episode had never happened. Though I had let my cover slip a little, I was the tough guy once again.

Leo nodded. "Donnie, is there anything you can do about them?"

"We'll have to get closer so I can see what kind of equipment it is," he replied thoughtfully.

We made our stealthy way across the catwalk and stopped just above the two humans' heads. We sat there for a minute while Donnie frowned in contemplation. After a while I started to get impatient.

"Well, Brainiac? What's the deal?" I all but breathed, trying to stay as quiet as possible.

Donnie shot me an annoyed look. "I can't really tell from here, Raph. I'll have to get down there." He paused and regarded the blond woman silently for a moment. "We may not even have to destroy the equipment. Mikey may not even be why this lady is here. He's on the other side of the lab, in the darkness. I doubt she has even seen him."

"So where is the specimen, Doctor?" The blonde's excited voice floated up to them.

"Right on the other side of the lab, Miss Douglas," the scientist replied, as I scowled at Donnie. He had the good grace to look embarrassed. "You can see it when the camera rolls. I want to have a genuine surprised reaction."

"Alright, fine." The turtles could hear the pout in her voice. "Let's go over what you say one more time."

"Of course," the scientist responded, sounding quite pleased with himself.

The blonde held up a microphone that wasn't attached to anything and smiled vapidly. "Thank you, Shelly," she said, as if she had just been patched in from the newsroom. "We have a very special exclusive story tonight. Dr. Hershel Lattimore claims to have discovered a new species of animal, one that will rock the scientific community to its core. Isn't that right, Dr. Lattimore?"

"That's right, Linda," he said, flashing a smile for the non-existent camera. "Though the specimen may not look it, he is in fact alive. I have to sedate him or he becomes violent."

I smirked at that. _That's right, _I thought, _Mikey'll kick your ass, Doc._

"Goodness!" Linda replied with false alarm. "How did you come across such an unusual specimen, Doctor?"

"I actually made the discovery myself," he continued, glowing with pride at his find. "I was visiting my nephew at his apartment in Manhattan and I discovered this fellow in the alley next door. He was unconscious, bleeding, and his breathing was labored. I placed him in my van and took him back to my lab."

"What is he, Dr. Lattimore?" The reporter asked in a hushed yet excited tone.

"Well, my initial tests seem to indicate that he is of the Kingdom _Animalia_, family _emididae_. The scientific name for his species is _Trachemys scripta elegans, _though there is an astonishing mix of human DNA in him as well."

"Could you please tell our viewers what this means, in laymen's terms?" The blonde questioned happily.

"Certainly. This is none other than a turtle. A Red Eared Slider, to be exact, though with some distinctly human characteristics."

"What would those be, Doctor?" The reporter continued, leaning down to mess with her camera equipment. I caught Donnie squinting at the jumble of wires and was relieved to see recognition spark in his eyes. He turned to Leo and I and gave a sharp nod.

"Well, he told me to 'get your hands offa me' when I was putting him into the back of my van," the scientist chuckled.

"He can speak?" The reporter sounded alarmed for real this time.

"Of course. I've also discovered that he is bipedal, meaning that he walks on two feet. There is also the small fact that he is five feet two inches tall. He was wearing clothes of a sort, as well. I found a pair of nunchaku next to him, which happen to be ancient Japanese weapons."

I saw Leo scanning a table near Mikey's prone form and I looked to see what he was searching for. I spotted his gear and his mask, as well as his nunchaku. They were a bit bloodstained, and I was proud that Mikey had put up a fight before he had gone down. I narrowed my eyes and clenched my teeth. Whoever had attacked my baby brother and left him in such a vulnerable position was going to pay, no doubt about that.

"I am hoping to question him when he wakes up. Maybe he can tell us if there are others like him!" The doctor rhapsodized.

_Not gonna happen, Doc, _I thought with a sneer.

"If I am able to find others, I am hoping to use one for dissection. I cannot dissect this little fellow, as he is the only sample I have. As it is, I will do some basic exploratory surgery in an attempt to find out what makes this him tick."

I felt Donnie stiffen next to me. I turned to look at him and he narrowed his eyes a bit, letting me know that the doctor was NOT going to follow through with this plan, not as long as he had anything to say about it. I returned the sentiment and refocused my attention on the humans.

"What you are suggesting seems impossible, Doctor Lattimore," Linda said, pasting a fake frown on her face. "How could such a creature exist?"

The scientist expounded on his theory about how Mikey had grown to be the size he was. He cited pollution, toxic waste, radiation, and somehow pulled global warming into the whole convoluted conjecture. I watched as Donnie shook his head and chuckled quietly, but then seemed to remember how dire the situation was and grimaced.

"I know it sounds like fantasy, but I assure you, he is all too real," the Doctor finished pompously.

"Great!" The reporter chirped, winding the cord around the base of the microphone. "That's an excellent place to stop. I need to fix my makeup. And maybe have some coffee?" She said innocently, angling for the scientist to offer her some.

"Oh, of course! Right this way." He gestured toward a room at the far end of the building.

The minute they were out of sight, Donnie whipped out a small electrical device. Leo and I stared at it for a second before he said that it would knock out all of the security cameras in the building with a flick of a switch, and erase all of the footage they had recorded in the past 48 hours.

"Good job, Donnie," Leo responded, putting a hand on my brainy brother's shell. He looked at me and motioned toward Mikey with a quick jerk of his head. I nodded and we dropped down to ground level.

Donatello broke off and headed toward the camera equipment while we made a beeline for Mikey. Leo gathered up all of his equipment and started awkwardly trying to re-outfit our unconscious brother with it. I stood by Mikey's head, gazing at him while contemplating the full implication of what it could have meant to our whole family if we hadn't found Mikey in time.

I ran my hand along the cold brushed steel of the table and then fingered the leather straps that held my little brother in place. I shuddered. Wanna guess what one of a Ninja Turtle's biggest fears is? It's not the Foot. It's not alien attacks or Agent Bishop, either, though he uses them.

Here, I'll give you a hint.

Its examination tables.

I thought back to the first time we had been captured by Bishop. All of us strapped to those damn tables, fearing that this would be it, watching with mounting horror as Bishop brought his little laser cutter closer and closer to Mikey's head. Then later, when Mikey had been caught by Bishop during the fight. My eyes never left the whirling blade of that saw as that evil whack-bag had brandished it at Mike.

In short, examination tables lead to exposure to the world, and inevitably, experimentation.

The fact that we could have been exposed to the world and experimented on because some little punks thought it would be a good idea to get the drop on my injured little brother made my blood boil.

I reached into my belt and pulled out a small jar of smelling salts, uncorked it, and held it under Mikey's nose. He gasped as he regained consciousness, instinctively struggling against his bonds.

"Raph?" He asked blearily. He spotted Leo and grinned stupidly, still under the effects of the sedatives. "Hey, guys, is it time for training already?"

"No, Mike, you're in some lab," Leo replied shortly, not in the mood for foolishness, even though, to be fair, it was drug induced. "You've got to snap out of it because the scientist and the reporter will be back any minute."

Mikey's eyes widened as he remembered the day's events. "Oh man, guys! I am so sorry! There were Purple Dragons, they came outta nowhere, and then I was fighting them and I got hurt. And I dropped the pizza!" He whimpered in anguish, as though that had been the worst thing to happen to him today. "And I was kinda out of it, and then this guy starts pulling me somewhere and I tell him to get offa me, but he just looks really excited and then I was in this van and I was moving and…"

He talked faster and faster the farther into the story he got. Finally, I'd had enough.

"Yeah, yeah, Mikey, we heard the scientist guy talking. Come on, Fearless, cut him outta these," I said, tapping the leather bands. Two flashes of a katana later and Mikey was stumbling forward. I caught him and righted him, but when I tried to help him walk he waved me off.

Donnie appeared out of nowhere and told us that he had discovered all of the genetic samples that the doctor had taken from Mikey.

"What did you do with them?" I asked, quirking an eye ridge and eyeing his duffle bag skeptically.

"I dumped hydrochloric acid on them," he replied with a mischievous grin. "And I deleted all of his pictures and files."

We all smiled at that, but then we heard the footsteps of the humans approaching and jumped up onto the catwalk. As we made our way over to the skylight, I heard the reporter groan.

"Oh man! Something tore up my equipment!"

"What? That is not possible," the Doctor replied, confused.

We watched in amusement as he paled and ran to the examination tables. "NO! NO! He's gone! I can't believe it!" The scientist began searching the area as we all stood by the rope that dangled from the ceiling and suppressed mad giggles.

"Your turtle guy thingy is gone?" The reporter asked, skepticism creeping into her voice. "How veeeery convenient!"

"What?" Asked the scientist, still frantically searching all of the dark corners he could.

"My camera equipment is sabotaged and you just _happen_ to lose your specimen? You know, I think there never was a specimen!"

"No, no, of course there was! Here, I have pictures!"

"You left for a while back there, Doctor," the blonde prattled on, accusation coloring her voice. "You easily had enough time to destroy my equipment to make it look like some intelligent creature had escaped and wrecked my stuff so it wouldn't be exposed to the world."

I heard a strangled cry as I watched Mikey climb the rope with Donnie's help. I glanced at Leo and he shot me an uncharacteristically wicked grin.

"But… But… They were here! They were right here!"

"I don't see any pictures, _Doctor_," the woman growled, packing up her damaged equipment in a flurry of movement. "I think our station was lied to. This is just some elaborate hoax or prank, isn't it? Well, you've wasted everyone's time. We will file charges against you for this, you know. Good day."

With that she stormed out of the lab. I heard her car start and her tires squeal as she peeled out of the parking lot. Leo and I looked down to the scientist only to find that we was staring right at us, completely bug-eyed, his mouth opening and closing like a beached fish's. We glanced and each other and shrugged, then both of us gave him a slight salute before we scaled the rope onto the roof.

I heard the side door to the lab bang open as we leapt to the next rooftop.

All the Doctor saw were shadows.


End file.
